


at best you'll find a little remedy

by asheijis



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Beta Read, a healthy amount of havoc if you will, a lil bit, and then. wreak havoc, angus is a little shit, barely there metaphors that dont actually make sense, just a little bit, luce n taako have a conversation over cake, me? writing taz b is 2020? more likely than u think, not ship centric theyre brief mentions, taako and lucretia make up in a way, written in all lowercase but like its an aesthetic choice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asheijis/pseuds/asheijis
Summary: a cake is made, a conversation is had, and money trades hands
Relationships: The Director | Lucretia & Taako, mentioned davenport/merle, mentioned lup/barry - Relationship, mentioned taako/kravitz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	at best you'll find a little remedy

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this back in february?? i think but !! everythings happening all the time so i decided to post it while im busy !! titles from hoziers to noise making (sing)!!

taako had made the cake. he fucking did it! he swirled the last of the icing on the top of the tiered monstrosity with only a slight tremor to his hand and a crease of an eyebrow. overall he thought the request he’d gotten was lackluster, a simple white cake with some light rose designs, and had asked why a cake for the ceremony celebrating their planar system winning against the hunger months ago was _so fucking boring_. the person who was giving him the relayed instruction from their boss and clearly wasn't getting paid enough to do this shit grimaced, and pointedly looked anywhere but him as they admitted their boss had worried about taako's ability to cook, and thus wanted something simple, for taako's sake. taako said nothing really, he couldn't, he just swallowed down his complaints and told them to deliver the message that the cake would sure be a surprise to see then, and with a sparkle of a knowing smile they went to deliver the message. taako later fumed over it, how could they try telling him to do that boring, basic cake out of some fucked up sympathy. he didn't want jobs to be easy for fucks sake, he needed a challenge. he'd had this growing need to do something daring, to pull a magnus so to say, as domestic bliss in the aftermath of the apocalypse overtook him. so pull a magnus he did, as he dragged in a shitton of ingredients that ren helped him pick out for the secret staff only kitchen at the school (the only part functioning yet). 

a white cake was bullshit, first of all. why didn't they ask for any other basic cake but a white cake. it has no prevalent characteristics that make it stand out! its only real purpose is to serve as a statement piece, or to be adorned by the actual stars of the dessert. so taako decided to go ahead with a white cake but to marble it so its at least more appealing to more than a fifth of the population of faerun. he also decided to take a hard pass and ignore the part of the request that stated for fondant because its a _fucking_ white cake. what does it need fondant for if you just want the fondant to be white? who the fuck wants white fondant? not taako thats for sure. he has _taste_ . and the decor only being light roses? he thought it was borderline disrespectful to be honoring the fucking world being saved with _light roses_ . the hunger wasn't out for their roses, the roses don't _matter_ . the decorations they want are so impersonal, so vague, so accommodating that it's _insulting_. the ipre, his family, didn't go through all that for light roses on a white cake and neither did anyone from faerun. and the person requesting it had purposefully chosen safe options because of him. so he had to make it right. he donned an apron that the reaper squad, as they started calling themselves, gave him and clapped his hands together as he started prepping his workspace.

of course he had finished it with some well timed breaks for him to breathe and chill with some of the folks who were passing through the hall outside his kitchen. at one point it had been angus, who had discussed a new caleb cleveland novel excitedly to him before asking if he could make elderberry macarons for the celebration as well, and taako could’ve told him to scram but fuck it, if you're going to piss off the person by making their order wrong, go big or go home. angus left later with some drying merengue on his nose and a knowing smile on his face. lup stopped by and started laughing her ass off when he told her what he was supposed to make, to the point where she figured out reapers can indeed get out of breath surprisingly. they shared a quick lunch and she helped make some decorations with him and then left on her merry way after hugging him tight and teasing him about how nice it was that he changed the plans. magnus stopped by, training johann to be calm and collected in high energy places, but still letting him jump in taakos lap, much to the elf's dismay. he laughed about how taako looked like he was chewing on bark as the dog whined softly to get back in his lap before distracting the dog with a treat he kept in a dog training belt he had. merle also stopped by, scratching behind johann’s ears as he passed, his two kids in tow. he made a whole fuss to taako over how much trouble it would be to get mookie in a suit, taako quickly replying that he can wear whatever he wants he's five who gives a shit, and merle scoffed with a smile; said he couldn't let his kids be around such foul mouthed influences; walking away with a chuckle as mookie ran forward, quickly followed by johann, then mavis, then magnus, all yelling for a different reason.

barry stopped by, telling taako he heard about the adjustments from lup and offering his help; to which taako recoiled earning a laugh out of his bejeaned brother in law. he did sit and discuss ways of teaching with him, even offering to tutor if any students at his school wanted to study necromancy, probably hoping to get taako to realize haphazard learning isn't the only way to go and it can be organized, but left when lup called him on his stone to do gods knows what. davenport stopped by, his tail twitching as he asked about the task taako was given, his lip quirking up as he heard how he was changing things, telling taako how he felt similarly, and offering to help him keep his cool. a couple of smoothies later and he was discussing this new species of water dwelling animal he had helped discover that reminded him of one type of whale they had back on two sun, and had left with a promise that if he found a weird ass fish he’d name it taaco. kravitz stopped by, kissed taako on the forehead and sat down with him while he took a break from the kitchen. at some point taako had asked him if he was doing the right thing by going against what him and the person who requested it had agreed on and kravitz considered it; confirming that yes it was a morally grey area but he personally thought it was insulting not just to the living, but the dead. taako mulled over that before going on to ask about the wildest bounty kravitz had ever been on and he sat and watched as his boyfriend regaled on the time a group of necromancers accidentally summoned him while they were playing spin the bottle. he left shortly after, promising to come by again to ensure their outfits somehow matched because, in his words, he had _class_ and taako thought he just wanted an excuse to traverse in taako's closet, as if he had to have an excuse. well, he did but he already had the excuse that he was his boyfriend so taako didn't really mind. taako finished up the cakes and desserts, putting them in the icebox to keep them fresh for later tonight and sat in the hallway, feeling like something was missing. he shrugged and went to have some off time before getting ready for the event. 

he was in the middle of levitating the cake onto its stand to be then carried out when it hit him. he had piped on a loose rendition of the statue lucretia had erected in neverwinter but it had felt off. he felt like his piping didn't actually capture the sculpture she designed well enough. it was great, don't get him wrong, but it felt. weird. he had elements of everyone decorating the cake, a starblaster he had made of royal icing, a pool of blue sugar candy, surrounded by a loose piping and royal icing rendition of the judge's cliff, a couple blown sugar transport balls, and fisher and junior made of some more blown sugar among other things scattered everywhere he could fit. there were spiralling bonds made of spun sugar twirling around the entire cake, encapsulating everything. he had included so much from everyone. he included lucretia and he knew it was what was right, so why did he feel so off looking at it? he wasn't upset. he wasn't angry. in an odd way he felt. grief. he hadn't seen her in a couple months but he had included her but he didn't do a good enough job at it. it was good, natch, but nothing compared to what she designed. he was staring at the tiny statue so intently he didn't notice someone had come in until they cleared their throat from behind him. 

“fuck - are you trying to kill me early kid i thought i told you -” taako's shoulders hitched upwards as he turned around, expecting angus but seeing. lucretia. she had a startled look on her face, hand gripping the walking staff she carried as she glanced behind him at the cake. she looked between him and the cake pointedly as he avoided her gaze. “well. uh. hey creesh. whatcha’ doing here? the events starting out there y’know.” he cleared his throat, shifting from foot to foot as her observant gaze took in everything that was going on. she seemed to deliberate for a moment, drumming her fingers lightly on her staff. 

“well oddly enough taako, i wasn't expecting you to be here, much as you weren't expecting me. i asked lord sterling whom he ordered the cake from and he told me to ‘check it out myself’; though might i say that looks a hell of a lot different from the sketch he made me draw.” she had a sympathetic look in her eyes, her mouth set in a melancholic smile. she pulled out a piece of paper, with a pencil sketch of a three tiered cake with royal icing roses. taako sighed and threw his head back and started to respond but she beat him to it. “i must say i prefer this one though. the other is way too bland for the occasion. if this were a wedding it would be nothing to write home about but it would be appropriate, but here? it would be frankly childish to have a cake like that here.” she stepped around taako, taking the cake in at all angles, her earrings tinking together as she moved to inspect the cake with eyes full of wonder. 

“that's what i told him! well - not him i didn't actually tell him i was changing it. it was a spur of the moment thing you get me?” he laughed nervously into the otherwise silent room, trying not to preen. she nodded silently, continuing her observation of the cake, looking like she was taking down every detail and committing it to memory. taako couldn't stand it. “well y’know, i got to thinking about it and? he sorta made it that simple because he wanted to ‘accommodate’ me but that's just more insulting, obviously.” lucretia looked up at him curiously as he talked but he continued on. “and then! i got to thinking about it more! not just me, we don't deserve some basic cake you can buy premade at a fantasy costco. like ‘oh yea congrats on saving the fucking planar system heres a cake that cost me about 3 gold’ like what the fuck?” he ranted, his hands flailing about everywhere as he talked enthusiastically. he sighed and shrugged at her, a few beats of silence passing between them. 

“well, yes, before it was quite impersonal but he thought that was the right decision because of how easy it was to create.” she looked up at him through the glasses she wore, with an uneasy look on her face. “now uh. why would he need to accommodate you taako? if i’m not stepping over boundaries.” she rose to her full height, a slight frown on her tilted face. taako froze, setting his jaw stiffly. they sat in the silent tension as taako stared beyond lucretia, trying to get up the will to say something, _anything_. 

“well, creesh? you know that job you hooked me up with when you voidfished my ass?” she grimaced at his crass delivery but nodded gently. “later on down the road i got this assistant yeah? to keep up with the math side of the business because, you know me, i didn't learn faerun’s math lucretia.” he chuckled lightly, bitterly. “he uh. he was fine. he thought the fucking world of me, even. but. jealousy can make someone do some sick shit. long story short i didn't want to have a duo act with him and me onstage. i might have been an asshole about it, and he got pissed lucretia. so fucking pissed.” taako swallowed around the lump in his throat , avoiding what he assumed was lucretia's pitying gaze. “fucker tried murdering me. i didn't do the one rule all chefs are supposed to abide by though, i didn't. taste my food before sending it out.” he coughed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. 

“taako i-” lucretia started, raising a hand as if to rest in on his shoulder, before retracting it at his flinch. she paused, holding her hand to her chest, unsure. “i cannot express how sorry i am taako, from the bottom-” she sighed, a deep set frown on her face. 

“lucretia. there were forty.” taako interrupted her, voice pitched and sharp. “i. may have convinced myself it was my fault so it’s been difficult getting back into the swing of things y’know?” he shrugged, trying to give off a feeling of nonchalance, though his hands shook while he gestured. lucretia pursed her lips and nodded curtly. 

“well, taako, i'm deeply sorry you had to deal with that situation. i can't help but feel responsible, however.” she winced in sympathy, a pained look crossing her face for half a second before steadying into a look of general sorrow. the air was palpable. they both stood, too caught up in if the other would do something, to actually do anything. they stood with the cake between them, taako with a stare and lucretia with a deeply apologetic look on her face.

“well.” taako cleared his throat, blinking and trying to focus on the cake in front of him, willing the water in his eyes to go away. “nothing's going to change what you did luce. nothing will change that you directly sent me on my merry way with half my memory. but he wasn't your fault. that blood isn't on your hands, regardless of if you think it is.” he let out a breath he'd been holding, looking up at her for the first time since she'd walked in. she looked so troubled and he could feel her brain working overtime trying to figure out where she went wrong and how much this was her fault. taako could only say so much was her fault but after a certain point, blaming her would just be irresponsible, cruel even. he'd come to realize that. 

“taako i still sent you there. i let that happen. i should've checked on you more, i knew i should've.” she sighed, stepping over to a chair and sitting in it. she rested her head in her hands as she sat at the table, leaning her staff against the wooden furniture. taako closed his eyes, crossing his arm and steeling himself for the inevitable conversation that had to happen. he let out a sharp puff of air through his nose and sat at the table with her. she glanced up with tired eyes before pressing her palms to them with a shudder. 

“listen. nothing can change the past. i can't go back and tell sazed to get his ass away from me. i sure as hell can’t go back and stop lup from leaving. and i can't go back and prevent anything that happened on dav’s birthday. all that shit is a fact now. it happened.” he placed his hands in front of him, clasped together on the table and speaking, staring off at the wall. he heard lucretia shift in her seat. “ _nothing_ can make what happened okay, lucretia. sometimes an apology just. isn't going to change anything .” he unclasped his hands to rub his neck, tilting his head to look at her. she had her hands cradling her chin, her eyes watery and a heavy crease in her brow. 

“i try to help taako. it's the most i can do. but you're right, it will never be enough.” her quiet voice wavered, taako taken aback slightly. he had become accustomed to her voice being strong as of late and was a bit shocked to find her opening up in front of _him_. he had seen her skirt around family affairs for months upon months, acting extremely formal with him when he found her before she left to do something. she consistently tried to keep herself impersonal around him since the day of story and song, and he was an idiot to think it was out of her being out of practice with being with their family. the dumbass wizard visage was just that - a visage - but by fuck if he isn't a complete dumbass sometimes. 

“hey. luce. listen here, cause i'm about to give you a taako grade talking to and you'll be lucky - or i guess unlucky - to hear another of these in your lifetime.” she looked up, startled at the change in his voice. “guess what? if you hadn't have voidfished your family we wouldn't be enjoying this cake now would we, lucretia?” she shook her head gently no, so he continued, standing up from the table and starting to pace around it. “would we have a kick ass detective child who basically _forced_ us to sign his adoption papers?” she shook her head no again. “would merle have two little kids who he loves enough to try, to fucking sneak out and make sure he's a positive influence even after he left their mom?” she shook her head, her hands resting palm down on the table instead of her chin. “would lup and barry be grim reapers? and in that note would me, maggie, and merle be blessed by istus?” no again. taako grimaced before continuing, his heels clicking on the tile floor. “would i have met kravitz?” she paused at that one, raising a finger. “lucretia so help me, put that finger down you and i both know that the starblaster had anti reaper charms all over it ever since the cycle where magnus immediately got captured.” he pointed at her, watching her place her hand back on the table silently, slowly. “now lucretia. answer. me. this.” she looked up expectantly, as he started approaching her side of the table. “would we have actually ever killed the hunger? would we have solved the problem? we couldn't have put the barrier up until you made your relic lucretia.” she didn't answer but looked away, back down at the table, but taako kept going. “would any of us have ever considered this planar system home, lucretia? would we?” he leaned on the table, waiting for an answer. 

“i guess not.” was her only response. she kept staring at the grain of the wood on the table in front of her. taako rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, propelling himself backward. he circled back around to the table. 

“lucretia i'm so fucking _tired_ of you acting like a business associate with me. you can't change what you did. regardless of how shitty it was, it led us here. we saved the planar system. we finally fucking did it lucy! and you're pretending im still your voidfished employee after a bad job!” he balled his hands at his sides, voice raising slightly. she stared up at him, mouth slightly agape before she stood as well.

“well taako, it certainly isn't fun for me either! after what you said and what happened on the day, i don't want to have you to that point again and i'm so hyperaware of how i could potentially be affecting all of you and it's just! easier being formal.” she raised her voice in tandem with him, leaning heavily on the table. her voice dwindled at the last words, growing quiet as her eyes watered. “i don't want to be, even indirectly, the cause of that pain anymore. so i keep up yet another barrier of sorts because taako? i don't know how to fix this. i know how to fix so much, but i don't know how to keep all of you from being so distraught.” she sat back down with a sigh and a tear running down her cheek. taako's ears were pinned back, and he took a deep breath before approaching the table again. 

“lucy. what i said? yea it fucking sucked. i can't say it didn't. my entire brain went through the ringer in the matter of like five minutes and i learned i'd seen my sisters skeleton and didn't know it was her. yea of course i'd be upset and say some shit spur of the moment! it was the start of the apocalypse and everything was happening! but just know if it had happened differently and i had instead found your corpse and hadn't realized it, i would've been just as fucked up over it.” he sat again, his hands drumming on the table. he heard her take a sharp intake of breath. “lucretia. you're still my little sister. you fucked up. but that fuck up allowed us to fix the problem. you're getting better, and y’know i didn't just lose the one sister when i was voidfished lucy. and regardless of if i forgive you? i want her back in my life.” he mindlessly played with the rings on his fingers, tilting his head to and fro and avoiding her gaze as much as possible. they both sat in silence as they soaked in the weight of the conversation, taako staring at his fingers and lucretia staring at taako.

“really?” she said in a soft voice, thick with the threat of falling tears. taako nodded wordlessly, and that action alone seemed to break some sort of barrier. taako found himself hugging a fully sobbing lucretia as he tried to keep himself from getting too emotional. he ran a comforting hand along her back, patting intermittently as she cried into his shoulder. she clutched his shirt with shaky hands, practically holding on for dear life. they stayed like that for a while, lucretia shaking in his arms as he tried his best to comfort her and he realized at some point a rumble had started in his chest. “i wasn't sure if you still considered me that. i thought i signed that away when i did what i did.” came her voice, muffled by his shirt. 

“well luce you know im a stubborn fucker.” he smirked and felt her laugh gently against him. she pulled away with a light smile on her face, casting a quick prestidigitation to clean up his shirt. “wait luce? before you go back out to the event can you uh. draw your statue on the cake. i fucked it up.” he laughed lightly to cover up the nervous energy of admitting he fucked up. she simply smiled and nodded however, stepping over to the cake, staff in hand. 

“you did pretty well taako! you just missed some green and yellow details here and there so if you could kindly pass over the green and yellow icing?” she held out a hand expectantly. he hurried to the icing station, grabbing two bags of the correlating colors and handed to her one at a time. he watched as she meticulously made the statue look complete, stepping away and observing it before she stepped back in to place a finishing touch. “there we go. perfect!” she grinned at the simple icing drawing. 

“that was what it was missing huh? it looks great now!” he tilted his head and nodded. lucretia practically preened with pride at her work. they stood, taking some last looks at the cake before taako eventually sighed. “well, i gotta get this out there now.” he leaned back, his hands on his hips. she nodded curtly, understanding and taking a step back so he could levitate it out without fault. he started casting before stopping abruptly. “hey lucretia?” she made a small noise of assent. “wanna fuck with our family a little bit?” he grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. she raised an eyebrow in question. “well how about we be a bit inseparable just to give everyone a run for their money. fuck up their expectations a little.” he crossed his arms, leaning on the counter as he regaled his plans. 

“some good old tomfoolery, huh?” she looked up at the ceiling, thinking. “i'm in. let's have some good fun out there taaks.” she beamed at him and his heart warmed just a little bit more. 

-

“what the fuck is up with lucy and taako, barry? i think i might be hallucinating.” lup pulled barry aside, loudly whispering to him. the rest of their family were in similar situations as he and lucretia wandered around, mingling together. they'd been inseparable and lup had made it through all of two minutes of seeing them like that to begin suspecting that something was afoot. 

“honey, i think they're just mingling. like yeah its odd as hell and not what i expected tonight to bring, but it's happening. seeing sure is believing lup.” barry wrapped an arm around her, pulling her a bit so that a waiter could pass. they continued on, walking toward the garden, lup throwing looks over her shoulder at taako and lucretia now and then. 

“what are those two doing?” davenport creased his brow at the table he was currently sharing with magnus and merle. he looked back over at the two of them laughing together with one of the minor lords over who knows what. 

“well dav, i think they're laughing! try it sometime, it's good for stress.” merle smiled, patting him on the arm playfully. as he smiled, one of the flowers he had braided into his beard fell out and he grumbled a quiet “pan-damnit” and picked it up, starting to twist it back in his beard almost immediately. 

“thank you for your observation merle, you are my husband and i love you but if you were anyone else i would challenge you to a duel.” davenport’s tail twitched as he smiled at merle, who said a quick “well, _thank you kind sir_!” at him. 

“whatever's happening with those two, i'm glad! i can't deal with being the middle man for those two again.” magnus chimed in, beaming at the other two. “i mean i have no idea how taako made an order from fantasy costco into an argument but with the amount of cannon travel points i racked up i could fly to twosun and back for free!” he leaned his head on one of his hands. johann sat beside him patiently, laying her head on his knee as he sat. an idle hand was petting her head, scratching lightly behind the ears from time to time. “i am glad for them though! its a good step forward to recovery for both of them!” he took a bite of the sandwich he got from the food table and looked back to lucretia and taako, who were now approaching lord sterling. 

“hello lord sterling, pleased to meet your acquaintance yet again.” lucretia said in her most formal voice, ducking her head slightly in acknowledgement of his status. taako mimicked her duck beside her, and artemis responded the same. so far the two had successfully fucked with their family, all of them clocking the bewildered looks they kept giving them. taako at one point said dav looked like he was calculating arithmetic in his mind and lucretia tried so hard not to choke on her drink. 

“hello taako, madam lucretia. it is an honor to host your family for this event. and thank you for providing the desserts taako.” he side eyed the desserts table with a poorly disguised look of confusion. 

“why, you're welcome lord sterling! it was my pleasure! i'm sure the payment will find me in due diligence!” taako preened at her side, a cheesy, shit eating grin plastered on his face. 

“it will be in your hands by tomorrow if my information is correct, no need to worry.” artemis crossed his legs, gesturing for the two to sit down. they both sat, taako flinging a leg on an arm rest and lucretia mimicking lord sterling. “however, i must ask why you didn't make the cake we agreed on?” he shifted in his seat, leaning forward slightly. both taako and lucretia immediately stiffened. taako broke out of it first, propping up an elbow on his leg. 

“well y’know lord sterling, this is an event about the day right? and like, be honest with me. be honest. is a white cake with rose decor really gonna honor that? is it?” taako had a slight uneasy edge to his voice. he was getting defensive again, probably gonna say something he'll regret if lucretia didn't save his ass soon. 

“yeah, artemis. it seemed a bit bland for the occasion. and already i’ve been told by several guests of all classes that the cake looks lovely and is a wonderful homage to all that happened that day and since! even your cousin liked it and you know how picky that man is!” she jumped in, glancing at taako and hoping to relay a quick _i've got this_ to him. it seemed to work because the nervous set to his shoulders eased somewhat and he leaned back further in his chest. 

“well, you may be right. i may have had a shortcoming while brainstorming the cake. i would just like to know why taako went against what was agreed on without notifying me.” lucretia started to talk but he interrupted her. “madam, please, i need to know his reasons, not yours.” he turned to taako expectantly. lucretia looked over at him, biting the inside of her cheek. 

“i'm gonna be uh - straight with you. your idea? sucked. it was so safe and impersonal that it was almost offensive, my guy. so maybe i changed some stuff behind your back, its better now at least!” taako pointed a lazy finger at lord sterling. lucretia struggled not to lose her shit laughing at taako telling lord artemis fucking sterling that his idea sucked. an assistant of his looked to be in the same wide eyed boat and she and them shared a look of bewilderment. 

“your family does that a lot huh?” artemis rubbed at his temples with his hand, sighing. “well no matter. i'm still grateful you made the desserts on such short notice. please don't allow me to take up all your time here, though.” he made a shooing gesture with his hands and lucretia stood nodding a farewell, followed quickly by taako hot on her trails. he had an odd look on his face. 

“what did he mean by ‘your family does that a lot’?” he murmured, eyebrows furrowed. lucretia tilted her head, thinking before she let out a sharp bark of shocked laughter. “what?” he looked at her, startled. 

“well you went against what was agreed but ended up doing it for the people and making it right in the end, just as i did with the voidfishing.” she quieted down when mentioning the latter. “not to minimize what happened no! but, i guess he thought it was a funny coincidence.” she shrugged, trying to pass it off as nonchalant. she looked over at taako, who had an alarmed expression on his face. 

“jesus christ, i'm turning into you.” he said solemnly, staring into the middle distance. lucretia couldn't help it, she dissolved into a fit of laughter, clutching her stomach as she hunched over as the laughter overtook her. taako quickly followed in tandem, his high pitched airy laughs mixing with hers. they received some looks from a couple lords, but neither noticed as tears pooled in their eyes from the laughter. they didn't even notice as a new presence approached them. 

“hello taako, lucretia! what's so funny ma’am?” a cheery voice said from in front of them and lucretia blinked away tears to see none other than angus, looking up expectantly at them with a journal in his hand. 

“oh nothing angus. just an inside joke!” she smiled at the boy, looking over at taako who looked to be in the middle of attempting to cough up a lung. 

“yeah little man, inside jokes are inside jokes for a reason. whatcha’ doing here though?” taako said once he regained his breath, voice a little scratchy. angus seemed to deliberate before speaking again, pursing his lips. 

“well i came to see why you two are suddenly buddy - buddy and i want to know what happened to cause,” he gestured in between them, “this.” he looked up at them with a shit eating grin. taako and lucretia shared a look. 

“which one of them put you up to this and how much are they paying you?” taako whispered loudly as angus beamed in his tiny suit, as lucretia stared wide eyed into the crowd looking for their family members. 

“whatever they're paying you, i'll pay double for you to act like this never happened.” she raised her bag, watching as angus thought about it. 

“i can make a deal.” he grinned as taako dissolved into laughter as lucretia pulled out a checking book. he had a feeling whatever happened needed to.

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed reading!! feel free to comment or send me a message @ my discord on my profile if u want!! have a nice day, make sure to prioritize ur health and well being!!


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